


let's take it from here

by tatoeba



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21644095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatoeba/pseuds/tatoeba
Summary: In order to get back at his parents for constantly trying to set him up, Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun to be his fake boyfriend for Thanksgiving.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O
Comments: 55
Kudos: 515





	let's take it from here

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god im posting new fic im gonna cry it's been so long
> 
> i have to IMMENSELY thank fefa ([xiuchens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiuchens/works)) for providing the inspiration for this fic. it all started from [here](https://twitter.com/xiuchns/status/1200029743543922688) and there was also [this](https://twitter.com/xiuchns/status/1200071605591924737) and i was just completely overwhelmed with the need to write it so i churned this out in the past four days!!! thank u so much for this i seriously needed something short and fun to write and i really loved writing this TTT ❤️
> 
> also thank you as always to my most amazing and wonderful beta bianca!!!! ❤️
> 
> i really hope u guys enjoy this lil fic!

Kyungsoo doesn’t usually fight with his parents. Usually, they get along pretty great. He has a good relationship with his dad that consists of a shared passion of old Hollywood movies, and his mom—well, as the younger of two sons, she’s always doted on Kyungsoo.

But of course, like any family, there are the occasional arguments, the phone calls that end in hang-ups, the texts that go unanswered for a few hours until everyone’s cooled down and someone apologizes. Nothing major. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Until now.

Kyungsoo is 25. He’s a graduate student, trying to get his PhD in film studies. He’s busy enough as it is, completing his final year in the program, and he does not need his parents—especially his mother—trying to set him up on blind dates and encourage him to finally find someone “nice” to “finally settle down with.”

It’s been going on for at least four months. Consistently. Kyungsoo’s been ambushed by his parents, assuming he’s meeting them for lunch, only to have an unexpected guest, a girl or guy they’ve met through family friends at church or his mom’s book club. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s happened enough times that Kyungsoo is absolutely sick of it. No amount of telling his mother to cut it out has helped. She seems to only renew her vigor in making something stick.

And so, drastic times call for drastic measures. Or so Kyungsoo’s heard. Maybe that’s why he tells his mom, “No, seriously, you don’t need to find me a date for Thanksgiving dinner, I’m already seeing someone,” when he 100% most definitely is not.

“Is that so?” his mother exclaims, sounding shocked and delighted. “Oh my, why haven’t you said anything sooner? That’s wonderful news, sweetie, you have to make sure to bring them along, you hear me?”

And that’s when Kyungsoo starts to flounder. “I—well, I think he’s going home for the holiday so I can’t—”

“Bring him,” says his mother in a tone of voice that would make even the most strict drill sergeant surrender to her.

So, yeah. Kyungsoo stood no chance.

He’s fucked, he thinks for five long minutes after that fateful phone call.

That is until he realizes that this might be his chance. To get his mom off his back. Put an end to all the blind dates and set ups. All he needs is a date. Someone who will charm—no, _annoy_ the shit out of his parents. Someone who they would never expect Kyungsoo would ever date. Someone who is his complete opposite, who is just awful enough to piss off his parents because, honestly, right now, Kyungsoo thinks they kind of deserve it.

Kyungsoo wracks his brain, pacing around his bedroom, thinking who he can wrangle into doing this, until it hits him.

He needs someone like—

“You want me to what?” Baekhyun says around a mouthful of pizza, looking at Kyungsoo across from the table in Baekhyun and Jongdae’s apartment.

Jongdae is sitting between them, looking disgusted by Baekhyun’s dining etiquette but also amused by Kyungsoo’s sudden request.

“I need a date for Thanksgiving,” Kyungsoo says. “I know that’s in like four days, but if you’re not busy, I was hoping you’d come with me.”

Baekhyun swallows, licks his lips, and tilts his head to the side, like he’s a curious puppy. It’d probably be cute if Baekhyun didn’t still have tomato sauce around his mouth and like...looked like a decent human being instead of wearing clothes ten sizes too big. His hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in three weeks. Kyungsoo doesn’t really even _like_ Baekhyun, but god, he’s perfect for annoying his parents.

“Why me?” Baekhyun asks.

“You’re the kind of guy my parents will hate,” Kyungsoo says bluntly, shrugging his shoulders as he picks up a slice of pizza to eat himself. He’d brought food along for the three of them when he came over, figured it as a bribe to get Baekhyun to agree.

Jongdae cackles and smacks Baekhyun’s shoulder, says, “That’s probably true.”

Baekhyun’s face twitches like he’s not sure if he should be weirdly flattered or just plain offended. “What’s in it for me?” he asks next.

Kyungsoo sighs. He knew Baekhyun would ask this. Even though they’re not really friends and Kyungsoo only knows Baekhyun because he’s Jongdae’s roommate, he knew to be prepared for this question. After all, he would’ve asked the same thing if their positions had been reversed. “Well, I just brought you lunch,” he says, gesturing toward the table. “And you’ll get to enjoy a really nice home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner in a few days. But if you come along, I suppose I can pay you back with whatever you want—within reason, of course. Buy you lunch or coffee or whatever.”

“Hmm,” Baekhyun hums, tapping his chin with a finger as he eyes Kyungsoo curiously. Kyungsoo suspects Baekhyun to grill him even more, to demand more answers and explanations, to wheedle out some kind of ridiculous contract for compensation, but instead, barely two minutes later, he says, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Kyungsoo gapes at him. “I—what—” he closes his mouth, takes a breath, and tries again. “Wait, really?”

Baekhyun nods, humming again as he noisily gulps down some coke from a can. “Yeah, sure,” he says. “I have no plans over Thanksgiving. Jongdae was gonna leave me here all alone because he’s visiting his rich boyfriend’s parents in Hartford.” He pauses to roll his eyes here, but laughs when Jongdae slugs him in the shoulder lightly.

“Minseok said you could come along,” Jongdae chides, pouting. “You refused.”

“Yeah, because being the third wheel to you guys is so fun,” Baekhyun says. “Besides it’s intimidating. You said his family comes from money or whatever, they probably expect me to show up in a tux and be all prim and proper.” Baekhyun scrunches up his nose. “Do you think I can manage that?”

He gestures to himself, and Kyungsoo is somewhat impressed by his self-awareness. He shares an amused look with Jongdae before they both laugh, and when Baekhyun catches Kyungsoo’s eye, he grins too.

“So yeah, pretending to be your date for a night sounds way more bearable,” he says. “I only have to be my charming self.”

Jongdae snorts. “Charming, sure,” he says, as Kyungsoo takes another bite of pizza to stop himself from saying anything at all, watching instead as the two roommates bicker good-naturedly.

Baekhyun is loud, makes lots of hand movements, and can never sit still for too long, moving in his chair constantly. He’s messy; there are stains on his shirt, and he’s wearing sweatpants with holes at the knees that Kyungsoo notices when he pulls his leg up onto the chair, pressing one knee to his chest. He might be a little _too much_ , but Kyungsoo doesn’t know who else there is to ask anyway.

It’s Baekhyun or nothing, and the idea of going to Thanksgiving alone and facing his mom is way more terrifying.

“So, when are you gonna pick me up?” Baekhyun asks, cutting through Kyungsoo’s thoughts. He rips apart a piece from the garlic bread Kyungsoo had bought too and pops it into his mouth, chewing kind of like a hamster.

“Thursday afternoon,” Kyungsoo says. “Around three? It’ll take us two hours to get home.”

“Cool,” Baekhyun says once he’s swallowed and then smiles so suddenly at Kyungsoo it kind of shocks him, how...cute, he looks like that, how cute Baekhyun probably could be if he wasn’t so obnoxious and had actual manners.

“Make sure to...dress....nicely,” Kyungsoo says finally, unsure of what else there is to say and hoping he’s not being offensive, but thankfully Baekhyun only laughs.

“Don’t worry, Kyungsoo,” he says, and strangely hearing his name in Baekhyun’s voice makes Kyungsoo’s body shiver, “I’ll sweep you off your feet.”

Kyungsoo laughs, shaking his head. “I have a hard time believing that,” he says, but he thinks he’s looking forward to seeing Baekhyun try.

•

Over the next couple of days, Kyungsoo avoids calls and texts from his mom once he’s confirmed with her that he is, in fact, bringing his boyfriend. She’s over the moon about it and Kyungsoo feels slightly guilty about lying, but well, if she hadn’t been so crazy with the blind dates and all, he wouldn’t have to resort to such tactics.

He exchanged numbers with Baekhyun the other day before he left and confirms plans, lets him know they'll probably be expected to stay overnight and have breakfast the following morning at least. Baekhyun only sends back a thumbs up emoji and Kyungsoo’s fine with that. He’s not looking to suddenly become friends with Baekhyun over this, no matter how much Jongdae has told him in the past that they’d get along if they gave each other the chance.

All Kyungsoo really knows about Baekhyun is that he’s obsessed with gaming and practically lives off of pizza. A friendship that does not make.

Thursday morning, Kyungsoo wakes early to finish some last-minute work that he doesn’t want to take home with him and then packs for the short trip. He’s glad he was able to convince his mom he can’t stay the whole weekend. As much as he loves his family, he’s not interested in spending a whole four days with them, especially with Baekhyun on top of it all.

By the time he leaves home to meet Baekhyun at Grand Central Station, he’s kind of nervous. He’s not sure how this is going to go, if he’s making the right decision, if it’s even going to work or just make his life more difficult. He’s so frazzled by his own thoughts he doesn’t even recognize Baekhyun, walking right past him and jumping only when Baekhyun’s familiar voice loudly calls his name.

Kyungsoo whirls around to find Baekhyun standing before him, wearing dark jeans that actually fit and don’t even have holes in them, clean oxfords, and a warm brown peacoat. His hair is styled up nicely, coiffed over his forehead, and makes him look his age instead of like the 15-year-old gamer he tends to act like whenever Kyungsoo sees him.

“Hey,” Baekhyun says, smiling brightly as he picks up a backpack from the ground by his feet and throws it over his shoulder. In his other hand, he’s carrying a white paper bag, but Kyungsoo can’t see what’s inside it. “Ready to go?”

Kyungsoo is still stunned by Baekhyun’s appearance and merely manages a nod. Baekhyun doesn’t seem perturbed by his silence though, just smiles wider and gestures for Kyungsoo to lead the way.

“Where do your parents live anyway?” Baekhyun asks.

“Poughkeepsie,” Kyungsoo says, thankfully finding his voice again and pushing all the thoughts about how handsome Baekhyun looks to the very back of his head. “They moved there a few years ago, wanted to get out of the city.”

“Can’t imagine that,” Baekhyun says with a small sigh. “I love the city.” He flashes Kyungsoo a grin. “There’s always something to do.”

He’s not wrong about that. Kyungsoo’s lived in NYC his whole life and can’t really imagine living anywhere else. Instead of saying any of that though, he blurts out, “What do you do other than game?” and immediately cringes in his embarrassment, turning away to look at the ground instead of at Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun only laughs though, like he’s amused. “Believe it or not,” he says. “I do occasionally go out. Shocking, I know, but I really like watching musicals on Broadway.”

Not expecting an honest response, Kyungsoo glances over at him and feels slightly guilty for being so presumptuous. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I guess I don’t know much about you other than what Jongdae’s mentioned in passing.”

Baekhyun shrugs a shoulder. “It’s cool,” he says so simply Kyungsoo can’t tell if he means it or not. “Jongdae tells me that you cook a lot,” he says, effectively changing the subject before Kyungsoo can consider asking. “Are you gonna be making dinner tonight?”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo says. “I’ll probably help my mom out some, if she lets me. She’s really particular about cooking, especially for the holidays.”

“Did you learn how to cook from her?” Baekhyun asks and Kyungsoo’s kind of surprised by this line of questioning, but he figures he might as well go along with it. The ride home is going to be a long one and they actually do have to act like they know _something_ about each other in order to fool his parents into thinking they’ve actually been dating.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says. “I mean, she taught me a lot while I was in highschool and then the rest I picked up myself when I moved out for college. My roommate back then couldn’t even boil water, but he graciously did all the dishes in exchange for me cooking enough for both of us.”

Baekhyun laughs at that and says, “Wow. Even I can manage that much.”

“And yet you and Jongdae eat out constantly,” Kyungsoo says just as the train stops at the platform. They rush to get on and thankfully manage to snag two seats near the doors. Baekhyun holds his backpack in his lap, and sets his paper bag very carefully on the floor between his feet. Kyungsoo tries to peek inside but still can’t see what’s there, and when Baekhyun’s thigh presses up against his, he forgets about it altogether, blinking down at where their legs meet, the warmth of Baekhyun’s body seeping into his.

He clears his throat and fishes his earphones out of his pocket, plugs them into his phone. Before he gets a chance to put them in his ears, Baekhyun asks, “So do you have a game plan for tonight or are we just winging it?”

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to respond, but then finds himself at a loss for words. He twists the cord of his earphones around his finger and sighs. “Honestly, I don’t have a plan,” he admits. “I just really need my mom to get off my back about...stuff…” He cringes at that but doesn’t particularly feel like explaining the true story behind all of this to Baekhyun if he can help it. “So I don’t know. Just...be your usual self, I guess. You don’t really need to worry about them actually liking you or anything.”

“Everyone likes me,” Baekhyun says with complete confidence. He grins at Kyungsoo. “It’s a curse.”

“Sure it is,” Kyungsoo says, but ends up laughing anyway. Baekhyun is...interesting. He’ll give him that.

“If anyone asks how long we’ve been dating, what do you wanna say?” he asks and Kyungsoo curses softly under his breath because he hadn’t even thought about that.

“Uh, let’s say it’s still new,” Kyungsoo says. “So we’re not lying too much. Like I’ve known you for a few years because of Jongdae, but we only started dating a few weeks ago.”

Baekhyun purses his lips as he considers, but then ultimately nods. “Sounds simple enough,” he says, and then points at Kyungsoo’s earphones. “Mind if I share with you? I forgot to bring mine.”

Of course he did. Kyungsoo resists the urge to roll his eyes, but finds that he can’t just outright refuse. “Fine,” he says tersely and holds one end up, and sticks the other into his left ear, tapping at the screen of his phone until he plays a song that he’s been enjoying a lot lately.

“Oh, I love this one,” Baekhyun says, slumping back slightly to get more comfortable and hugging his arms around his backpack.

Kyungsoo says nothing, merely nods, and lets them fall into a surprisingly comfortable silence.

•

They take an Uber from Poughkeepsie station. Kyungsoo hasn’t been to visit his parents in months and the familiar scenery is strangely nostalgic despite this not being Kyungsoo’s actual hometown. There’s snow on the ground and in the trees, just a faint dusting that marks the holiday season, and for the first time since Kyungsoo had confirmed his plans to come for Thanksgiving is he actually happy that he’s here.

When his mom opens the door, pretty much all of Kyungsoo’s frustration and anger at her melts away too. She’s got the biggest smile on her face that never fails to make Kyungsoo smile as well and immediately pulls him into her warm embrace, exclaiming, “Oh, I’ve missed you so much sweetheart! Was the ride long? Are you hungry? I can get you a snack if you are—you’ve definitely lost weight haven’t you, are you eating okay—”

Kyungsoo laughs as he pulls back and says, “Mom, relax, I’m fine, really.”

She purses her lips at him but then seems to notice Baekhyun hovering just behind Kyungsoo and her attention on Kyungsoo’s well-being is immediately diverted. “Oh, well, who do we have here?” she says, waving Baekhyun further into the house.

Kyungsoo clears his throat, thinks, _here goes nothing_ , and says, “Right, uh, well, this is Baekhyun. My boyfriend.”

“Hi, Mrs. Do,” Baekhyun says politely, flashing Kyungsoo’s mom a bright smile. “Thank you so much for inviting me to come along for dinner tonight.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Kyungsoo’s mother says. “I’m delighted to have you! Kyungsoo’s been keeping you a secret for too long it seems, I didn’t even know he was dating anyone.”

Kyungsoo groans, rubbing at his temples with a few fingers as Baekhyun easily laughs and grins wider when Kyungsoo catches his eye.

“It’s still very new for us,” Baekhyun says smoothly, and then, before she has any chance to interrogate them further, holds up the white paper bag and pulls out a bouquet of flowers from it. “These are for you,” he says, and of all the things Kyungsoo was expecting, this is not it. “I also brought a bottle of wine for everyone to enjoy.”

“Oh, aren’t you thoughtful,” Kyungsoo’s mother says, holding the flowers like they're precious and smiling as she takes the bag from Baekhyun with the wine in it. “You're so sweet, Baekhyun, thank you. This wasn’t necessary at all.”

“I wanted to,” Baekhyun says with a grin. “It’s important to make a good first impression.”

Kyungsoo’s mother laughs, lightly pats Baekhyun's arm and says, “Well, I think you’re doing quite well so far.” She beams at him and then at Kyungsoo, and gives him a surreptitious smile and nod of her head toward Baekhyun, clearly offering her approval. It’s not sneaky enough that Baekhyun doesn’t notice, chuckling softly as he nudges Kyungsoo’s arm with an elbow.

“This was a mistake,” Kyungsoo says flatly, and this time both his mom and Baekhyun laugh together, as if he’s merely joking. He is, but only mostly.

“Come on in boys,” his mom says, waving them inside. “Take off your shoes and coats, Kyungsoo help Baekhyun put his things away in the room upstairs, all right? Then come join us when you’re ready. Your brother should be here soon too.”

“Thanks mom,” Kyungsoo mutters, doing as she requests while she flits down the hall toward the kitchen, holding up the flowers to smell them as she goes. He heaves a heavy sigh once she’s out of sight, shrugging out of his coat to hang up in the entry closet.

“You seem like you’ve lost ten years of your life already,” Baekhyun comments as he pulls out a hanger and throws his coat onto it.

“I think ten is on the low side of the scale,” Kyungsoo says and jumps slightly when Baekhyun drops his hands to his shoulders and gives Kyungsoo a rough squeeze.

“You need to relax,” he says. “Everything's gonna be fine, okay?”

Kyungsoo knows this but it’s still difficult. He closes the closet door and says, “You know you really didn’t have to bring any gifts.”

“I know,” Baekhyun says, following after Kyungsoo as he heads up the stairs. “But it felt wrong not to, even though I know you said the whole point of this was to make sure your parents didn’t like me.”

“It’s not really that I don’t want them to hate you or anything,” Kyungsoo admits after a moment. “I just—you seem like the kind of person who would annoy them most.”

“And you want to ruffle their feathers a bit, huh?” Baekhyun says and chuckles when Kyungsoo sheepishly nods. “Hey, I get it. Parents can be frustrating, especially around the holidays. Were they gonna try setting you up with someone tonight if I hadn't come?”

Kyungsoo sighs, pushing open the door to the guest room that he uses when he visits and throwing his bag onto the bed. Since Baekhyun’s figured it out, there's no reason to hide it from him. “Yeah,” he says. “They’ve been really pushy about it. You saw how excited my mom was to meet you. I figured if I brought someone that got on their nerves a bit, it’d be like...enough to get them to leave me alone about it.”

“Or they’ll just redouble their efforts because they’ll think I'm totally wrong for you,” Baekhyun points out, sitting at the edge of the bed and flopping onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

“Fuck,” Kyungsoo says, horrified. “I didn’t even think of that.”

Baekhyun snorts and lifts his head up just enough to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes. “Clearly,” he says. “You didn’t put much thought into any of this.”

Kyungsoo kicks him in the shin with his foot and Baekhyun laughs more freely.

“I don’t mind,” Baekhyun says. “I think better on my feet anyway.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Kyungsoo sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Baekhyun pouts. “Don’t be mean,” he says, but before Kyungsoo can feel too guilty, Baekhyun already seems over it, dragging himself up off the bed. He stretches his arms over his head and Kyungsoo blinks, eyes falling to the strip of smooth skin at his waist where his shirt comes untucked. Baekhyun lets out a satisfied sigh as he drops his arms and then moves in front of the full-length mirror near the end of the bed to fix his clothes and tidy his hair, and Kyungsoo can’t help but notice how broad Baekhyun’s shoulders are as he moves.

Kyungsoo didn’t think Baekhyun could dress like this, could even _look_ like this, and he’s weirdly thrown off balance every time he looks at him and notices something about Baekhyun he’s never noticed before.

He forces himself to drag his eyes away and nudges his glasses up his nose, heads for the door. “Come on,” he mumbles. “Let’s go back downstairs.”

In the living room, Kyungsoo introduces Baekhyun to his dad who shakes Baekhyun’s hand with enthusiasm even as he seems to size him up. Thankfully, before his dad can make any ridiculous comments or embarrass Kyungsoo, Baekhyun points at the old record player in the corner of the room and says, “Does that still work? I love listening to vinyls but the one my grandparents had finally reached the end of its life a few months ago.”

Kyungsoo’s dad lights up with excitement, ushers Baekhyun over to the side of the room and shows him his extensive collection of records. “My dad collects them,” Kyungsoo says when Baekhyun looks shocked. “It’s kind of a hobby.”

“It's a _passion_ ,” his dad corrects him and Baekhyun laughs and says, “My granddad was the same way,” which has Kynugsoo’s dad patting Baekhyun roughly on the back.

“You found a good one here,” he says to Kyungsoo. “Anyone who appreciates vinyls is a good kid.”

Baekhyun smirks at Kyungsoo who hopes he doesn’t look as stunned as he feels. He turns back to Kyungsoo’s dad and says, “Can we play one?”

“Of course!” Kyungsoo’s dad says and Kyungsoo watches in wonder as they look through the collection, chatting amongst themselves and discovering shared favorites. Baekhyun doesn’t look like he’s only playing along. He doesn’t look like he’s acting for the sake of getting into Kyungsoo’s parents good graces. He _knows_ Kyungsoo wanted him to shock his parents, not be exactly the kind of boyfriend they would want for him. This is just Baekhyun, being himself. Like he said he would.

What the fuck.

Kyungsoo leaves them to it, escaping to the kitchen where he can hopefully help his mom cook and ignore how weird all of this is. His mom greets him with a wide grin and says, “Want to let the dogs back in? I let them out just a few minutes ago.”

“Of course,” Kyungsoo says, heading toward the door that leads out onto their patio and backyard. He shivers from the wind that blows through when he opens the door, but a quick call out to both Hoochoo and Meokmul has the two poodles running back instantly. They are clearly excited to see him, jumping up at Kyungsoo’s legs and barking happily until Kyungsoo crouches down to give them some pets and kisses. He thinks he should come home more often to see the dogs at least and suddenly wonders if Baekhyun likes dogs too.

He picks up Meokmul into his arms and heads for the living room, Hoochoo following at his feet, and just as he walks in and says, “Hey, Baekhyun, do you like—”

“Oh my god, puppies!” Baekhyun exclaims, jumping up from the couch where he’s apparently still been talking with Kyungsoo’s dad. He immediately walks up to Kyungsoo and coos at Meokmul in Kyungsoo’s arms, carefully holding out a hand for Meokmul to sniff before she deems him worthy. When she licks at his fingers, Baekhyun makes a rather adorable sound of happiness and gently brushes his hand over her head. “You never mentioned you had dogs,” Baekhyun says, glancing up at Kyungsoo with wide, bright eyes. “This is the best surprise ever.”

Baekhyun’s attention turns to Hoochoo when she comes up to jump at his knee and he laughs, immediately dropping down to the floor to let Hoochoo sniff him and then immediately climb into his lap. Baekhyun looks absolutely delighted and murmurs softly, “Oh, you’re pretty,” under his breath as he pets her. Kyungsoo watches with something like surprise, eventually joining Baekhyun on the floor with Meokmul. It’s not like he expected Baekhyun to be mean to the dogs or anything but...there’s this softness to him right now that Kyungsoo’s never seen before.

He licks his lips and says, “So I guess you are a dog person.”

Baekhyun laughs and nods enthusiastically. “Absolutely,” he says. “My family has a corgi named Mongryong. He’s the cutest.” He pauses and looks between Meokmul and Hoochoo for a moment then amends, “Well, he’s tied in first place with these two.” He gives Hoochoo a little scritch under the chin.

Kyungsoo can’t help but smile, relaxing into Baekhyun’s gentle demeanor and the sweet way that he plays with the dogs. Kyungsoo’s dad looks pretty satisfied watching them and Kyungsoo wonders what he and Baekhyun had been talking about, hopes that they kept it to the topic of music and nothing else.

“Here,” Baekhyun says, pulling Kyungsoo from his thoughts, holding up his phone to show Kyungsoo his wallpaper. “This is Mongryong.”

The picture is of Baekhyun and his corgi, sitting in his lap, Baekhyun kissing the top Mongryong’s head. “Cute,” Kyungsoo says without thinking and Baekhyun smirks at him, setting his phone aside.

“Me or Mongryong?” he teases and Kyungsoo’s dad laughs from the couch.

“Mongryong, obviously,” Kyungsoo responds flatly, feeling his face burn, and to his horror watches as Baekhyun turns to his dad and whines, “Mr. Do, your son is so mean to me.”

His dad laughs even more, clearly entertained, and says, “That’s how you know he really likes you.”

“Oh my god,” Kyungsoo groans, hiding behind Meokmul’s fur.

Baekhyun grins, nudging Kyungsoo’s knee with his foot. “Don’t be embarrassed, babe,” he says so smoothly, Kyungsoo is kind of shocked. Up until now, they haven’t particularly _acted_ like they’re dating in any obvious way. “I know how you really feel.”

“You know nothing,” Kyungsoo mutters but finds himself smiling yet again as Baekhyun laughs, realizing he can’t really be annoyed at him.

His mom walks into the room a few moments later, holding a tray some small snacks and appetizers. She goes straight to Baekhyun first and offers him his pick. “Do you mind grabbing some drinks for everyone, Kyungsoo?” she asks of him but it’s Baekhyun who moves to stand up first.

“Oh, I can get it,” he says but Kyungsoo’s mother shakes her head.

“No, no, you sit, sweetheart,” she says. “You’re a guest! Kyungsoo can do it. Just tell him what you’d like.”

Kyungsoo is already on his feet, raising a brow at Baekhyun expectantly as he sinks back to the floor.

“Ah, then, whatever you’re getting for yourself is fine with me,” Baekhyun says with a soft smile.

Kyungsoo nods and heads to the kitchen. He gets a beer from the fridge for himself and Baekhyun, and knows his dad well enough to know he probably wants some whiskey. There’s already a kettle on the stove that’s probably for his mother’s tea, so he grabs a cup for her and fishes out the lavender tea he knows she’s been into lately.

Just as he’s pouring the hot water into the cup with the teabag, his mother returns to the kitchen, Meokmul following after her and sticking close to her feet as she walks. She stops beside Kyungsoo, wraps an arm around his waist and squeezes him gently. “He’s so sweet,” she says, clearly talking about Baekhyun. “He seems to really like you too.”

Kyungsoo coughs slightly and says, “You think so?”

She hums, nodding. “Yes,” she says. “And I can tell how much you like him too. I don’t think I’ve seen you so comfortable with anyone we’ve tried to introduce you to before.”

Kyungsoo bites back the retort that it’s never easy to feel comfortable when he’s been forced into meeting someone he never wanted to meet. But when he thinks about it, it’s not particularly like he knows Baekhyun any more than he’s known any of his past blind dates.

“Well,” Kyungsoo says after a moment, trying to untangle the threads of his confusing thoughts, “he’s different.”

His mother laughs. “I can see that,” she says with a little wink that makes Kyungsoo flush, turning away from her knowing eyes.

She thankfully shoos him out of the kitchen afterward, saying she’ll bring her tea and his dad’s drink over, so Kyungsoo grabs the beers and returns to the living room. Baekhyun is still sitting on the floor, now with his back against the couch and his legs stretched out, his lap full of puppies, and he’s taking a couple of photos on his phone. He looks up when he notices Kyungsoo approaching and, to Kyungsoo surprise, holds his phone up to take a picture of him, too.

Kyungsoo joins him on the floor again, just close enough to keep up appearances but still maintaining a respectable amount of space between them. He hands one of the beer bottles over and says, “What was that for?”

Baekhyun shrugs, glancing down at his phone, presumably at the photo he took, but the small smile that curls over his lips makes Kyungsoo think he must be looking at something else to be smiling like that. “No reason,” Baekhyun says, smiling wider as he meets Kyungsoo’s eyes, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know why but he feels a little lost in Baekhyun’s warm gaze and the way he reaches out to pat Kyungsoo’s knee as if reassuring him that it’s nothing.

Instead of pressing further or saying anything more, Kyungsoo breaks eye contact and cracks open his beer to take a long drink.

He thinks he’s gonna need it to get through the rest of the day.

•

Except, the next few hours are pretty...nice. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun quietly talk together while playing with the dogs and Kyungsoo’s dad watches an old holiday movie on television. He interjects every once in awhile to ask Baekhyun a question—what does he think about football, what does his parents do, what does _he_ do.

“I’m getting my masters in game design,” Baekhyun says and the way he says it, he looks proud about it. “I wanna make my own video games someday.”

Kyungsoo blinks at that. He knows Baekhyun loves gaming; Jongdae’s mentioned many times how he spends hours holed up in his room screaming at his computer while he plays. Kyungsoo’s heard it himself too, when he’s come by to have lunch with Jongdae or return a book he’d borrowed. He’s only seen Baekhyun play once or twice and always on the console in his living room, curled up on the couch in his usual ratty oversized clothes, open bags of chips strewn about the coffee table.

It’s never occurred to him that Baekhyun’s passion for gaming was something he was actually turning into a potential career.

“You're not so different from Kyungsoo then,” his dad says. “He’s always wanted to make his own movies!”

Kyungsoo feels his face heat up when Baekhyun looks over at him, but he doesn’t seem particularly surprised. Maybe he knows what Kyungsoo’s studying from Jongdae. Maybe he’s asked. Kyungsoo’s never asked Jongdae anything about Baekhyun, never thought to ask Baekhyun himself.

The guilt of lying to his parents hasn’t quite left all day but now there’s something else that’s joined the slimy feeling in his chest. Shame. He’s known Baekhyun for a few years, ever since Jongdae’s old roommate moved out of the state and Baekhyun had taken up the empty space in his apartment. But in all that time, Kyungsoo’s never let himself get to know Baekhyun, has never even _tried_. Instead he’s let his few, brief interactions with Baekhyun define him entirely that when he needed someone annoying and chaotic enough to piss of his parents, he thought of Baekhyun, without thinking about whether or not that’s really the kind of person Baekhyun is.

And it becomes more and more clear throughout the night that Baekhyun is _not_ that kind of person. When Kyungsoo’s mother stops by to check on them, Baekhyun asks if she needs help in the kitchen with the food. “I’m not very good at cooking, but if you tell me what to do—” he says, and is quickly shot down by her, even though Kyungsoo can tell she’s impressed. “At least let me set the table, Mrs. Do, I feel like I should help out somehow.”

“Come on,” Kyungsoo says, standing up before his mom can refute Baekhyun again, “I’ll show you where everything is.”

Baekhyun immerses himself easily into dinner preparations, setting the table with a smile on his face, happily offering to taste-test anything Kyungsoo’s mother’s cooking, and even taking out the trash at one point, despite Kyungsoo muttering to him that he definitely doesn’t need to go this far.

It makes him wonder though. Is Baekhyun doing this all for the act? Or is this just how he is at his own home? Does he help his mom the same way as he’s helping Kyungsoo’s? Would he have been this helpful if he’d gone with Jongdae to Minseok’s family’s celebration?

Nothing of what Kyungsoo’s previously seen or heard about Baekhyun from Jongdae would really confirm any of that and it leaves him a little lost, even more confused.

When Baekhyun walks back into the kitchen, he crowds up against Kyungsoo’s back to peer over his shoulder at the green bean and mushroom mixture his mom had told him to pour out onto a dish for a casserole. “Looks amazing,” Baekhyun says, and his breath tickles Kyungsoo’s neck, makes him lose his grip on the pan. It doesn’t really help that Baekhyun covers his hand with his own to steady him, helps Kyungsoo pour the remainder out. Kyungsoo notices that Baekhyun has really long, slim fingers, that his hand is just slightly larger than his own and there’s a dark mole on his thumb.

Baekhyun lets go a moment later and steps aside to help Kyungsoo’s mom grab something from a higher shelf. Kyungsoo sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. The back of his neck is burning. Even his hand where Baekhyun had touched him feels hot from the contact. He sets the pan aside and puts the casserole into the oven like his mother instructed and when he looks back over, he finds Baekhyun laughing at something his mother said, his eyes curved into crescents and his head tilted back.

Oh, Kyungsoo thinks, faintly. He’s really cute.

As if Baekhyun can hear his thoughts, he looks over and meets Kyungsoo’s eyes, his bright smile still in place as he walks over and pokes Kyungsoo’s nose. “What’re you thinking about so seriously?” he questions curiously and Kyungsoo’s brain-to-mouth filter must be malfunctioning because he blurts out, “You.”

Baekhyun's eyes widen and Kyungsoo immediately wishes he could take his reply back. Instead, he slowly dies of mortification as Baekhyun’s expression settles from shock to amusement, his smile morphing into more of a smirk. “I’m flattered,” he says which almost makes Kyungsoo snort, because of course he is, but then Baekhyun’s wrapping an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders and adds, “and you’re adorable,” before planting a smacking kiss to Kyungsoo’s cheek.

They hadn’t discussed anything about physical intimacy and Kyungsoo’s suddenly realizing what an oversight that was. He should’ve set boundaries. He should’ve actually planned things out instead of jumping into this ridiculous scheme without any idea of what he wanted.

He hopes his shock at Baekhyun’s kiss doesn’t show on his face and give them away. His mother looks at them like they're the most precious thing ever and Baekhyun, when Kyungsoo can find it in himself to actually look at him again, is absolutely smug. He squeezes Kyungsoo gently, practically pulling him into his chest, and laughs when Kyungsoo’s brain finally decides to function again and he shoves Baekhyun away, hoping they look playful.

“I’ll be right back,” he mutters as he heads briskly out of the kitchen and to the bathroom down the hall. In the silence of the small room he takes a deep, steadying breath and lets it out slowly, eyes falling shut. He stands like that for a moment, leaning against the door, trying to push aside all the confusing thoughts in his head, the guilt, the shame, the general weirdness of this day.

He takes a few moments to just breathe, to relax, and by the time he finally opens his eyes again, he’s already feeling less overwhelmed. He removes his glasses, runs the cold water on the faucet and splashes a bit onto his face. He rubs his fingers against his eyelids and temples for a few moments, trying to calm himself further and then dries off. He puts his glasses back on and takes a good look at himself, fixes the collar of his buttoned shirt, runs a hand over his short hair and sighs again.

When he opens the door, he finds Baekhyun waiting for him, leaning against the opposite hall wall, looking at his phone. He perks up as Kyungsoo steps out, closing the bathroom door behind him, and says, “Are you okay? I’m sorry if that was too much back there, we should’ve talked about it, I shouldn’t have just kissed you, I—”

Kyungsoo’s had so many surprises today that Baekhyun apologizing is just another one to add to the pile, expect the earnestness of his words, the worry etched into the furrow of his brow, somehow suddenly makes it easier for Kyungsoo to let it all go. He’s not mad about the kiss anyway. “It’s okay,” he says, cutting off Baekhyun’s rambling. “It was just a little kiss. You just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth like he wants to protest, but then sighs, slumping a little in what Kyungsoo thinks is relief. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Baekhyun says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, compared to some couples I know, we’ve been really lowkey on the PDA.”

Kyungsoo snorts. “That’s because we’re not a couple.”

For a second the way Baekhyun looks at Kyungsoo is almost...disappointed, his eyes soft and sad instead of amused by what is essentially a reminder of their ridiculous situation. But before Kyungsoo can dwell on it too long, it’s gone, and Baekhyun is laughing. “For today, we are,” he says, and has the audacity to wink.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and turns down the hall back toward the living room. “Are you always so insufferable?”

“Yes,” Baekhyun says cheerfully. “You’ll grow to love it.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Kyungsoo says, but somehow finds that he’s already, maybe, falling for it anyway.

•

The rest of the night goes by much better than expected. Kyungsoo’s older brother Seungsoo arrives about an hour before dinner with his wife, Minhee, and four-month old baby girl, Hana. The second introductions are over, Baekhyun is asking to hold the baby, looking at her with awe as Minhee gently deposits her into his arms. Of course Baekhyun likes babies too. Because today is opposite day and everything Kyungsoo thought he knew has been turned upside down.

Except, he realizes that he’s not actually mad about it. Everything he’d expected out of tonight has gone differently. His frustration at his parents had more or less vanished the second he’d arrived and his parents themselves seem to really like Baekhyun. It’s not what he wanted, but maybe it’s better this way. That everyone is having a good time and getting along instead of causing problems that would only make things worse later.

Even Seungsoo seems to get along with Baekhyun well, striking up a friendly conversation about a webtoon they both apparently read, all while Baekhyun continues holding Hana in his arms. He looks down at her every couple of seconds, gently pokes her nose and lets her tiny fingers wrap around one of his own. He has a warm smile on his face that Kyungsoo can only describe as _pretty_ and before he even realizes he’s doing it, he pulls out his phone to take a photo.

Baekhyun catches him, because of course he does, and Kyungsoo hopes he’s not blushing from the way Baekhyun smirks at him. “What was that for?” he asks.

Kyungsoo shrugs, walking over toward the couch where Baekhyun is sitting and says, “You took one of me earlier so I figure this makes us even.”

Baekhyun grins widely and scoots over on the couch to make room for Kyungsoo. “Sit. Take one of us together,” he says. “And with Hana, of course.”

So Kyungsoo does. Baekhyun leans against him, holds his arms up slightly with Hana still cradled in them and Kyungsoo takes a couple of pictures until Baekhyun is satisfied. When he lowers his phone, it’s to find Seungsoo smirking at him.

“You guys are adorable,” he says. “But probably don’t show mom those photos or she’ll get ideas about the future.”

Kyungsoo feels his face burn. Beside him, Baekhyun cackles. When he seems to catch onto Kyungsoo’s mortification, his laughter softens and he bumps Kyungsoo’s shoulder with his own. “Relax, silly,” he says. “I know it’s too soon to be thinking about any of that.”

Kyungsoo lets out a deep breath and falls back against the couch. Both Baekhyun and Seungsoo laugh at him, but not meanly, and soon Kyungsoo finds himself cracking a smile too. Baekhyun looks disappointed when Minhee returns sometime later to take Hana so she can feed her before dinner and he waves cutely at the baby as they leave before slumping back against the couch beside Kyungsoo and surprisingly resting his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Kyungsoo’s instinct is to pull away but he stays still instead, keeping up appearances, but also maybe not minding so much. Baekhyun feels kind of warm and comfortable leaning against him and when he drops a hand to Kyungsoo’s thigh and squeezes, that’s kind of nice, too.

By dinnertime, Kyungsoo is no longer silently freaking out about Baekhyun touching him or even about how easily Baekhyun seems to have charmed his entire family. There’s nothing he can really do about how the day has gone except enjoy it for what it is, continue to keep up the charade, and hope no one catches on. He helps his mom arrange dishes around the table while Baekhyun fills up glasses with the wine that he had brought along.

“Good taste,” says Kyungsoo’s dad approvingly when Baekhyun hands him a glass. “I’m thinking this one’s a keeper, son.”

Baekhyun laughs and says, “I think I’d like to keep your son too, if he’ll let me.”

Everyone turns to Kyungsoo who clears his throat and pushes his glasses up his nose. He meets Baekhyun’s mischievous eyes and says, figuring teasing back is the best option here, “I’ll think about it.”

It works. Everyone laughs and they settle down to eat. Baekhyun is full of praises for all the food on the table, exclaiming how if Kyungsoo hadn’t invited him he would’ve probably ordered pizza for dinner tonight.

“Oh, I’m so glad you came along,” Kyungsoo’s mother says. “I’ll make sure to pack up leftovers for you to take home too.”

Baekhyun beams at that. “Thank you, Mrs. Do,” he says sincerely.

"You know, Kyungsoo's hasn't brought any of this dates home in a long time," she says as she passes the bowl of mashed potatoes to Minhee. "The last time was years ago, wasn't it?"

Kyungsoo groans and mutters, "Must we talk about this?"

"Of course," Seungsoo joins in with an amused laugh. "Isn't the point of family dinners like this to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend?"

"No," Kyungsoo says flatly, even though he's clearly outnumbered here by the looks of it. "Besides, everything you know about me, I know worse about _you_."

That does effectively shut Seungsoo up, as Minhee laughs beside him and pats his arm. "Let them have a nice dinner," she says and Kyungsoo almost thanks her for taking his side until she winks and adds, "There's still plenty of time for embarrassing stories afterward."

"I think I'll go eat in the kitchen with the dogs," Kyungsoo says, but he's really only kidding, making a show of picking up his plate and getting halfway out of his seat.

Baekhyun's the one who gently urges him to sit back down, sliding a hand across Kyungsoo's back and up to squeeze the back of his neck. "Sorry, sorry, baby," he says easily, smoothly, like all of this is natural to him. Kyungsoo wonders if this really is how Baekhyun is when he's dating someone—teasing but still considerate, a little rough but still thoughtful. "We'll behave."

Kyungsoo sits back down and picks up his glass of wine. "You never behave," he finds himself teasing and Baekhyun's eyes sparkle, amused.

"Ah, because it's so fun to rile you up," he says, tugging gently at Kyungsoo's left ear, and Kyungsoo swats his hand away, flushing deeply from the neck up to his face.

He drags his gaze away and takes a drink of his wine, not meeting anyone else's eyes as he focuses back on his dinner. Conversation thankfully moves away from Kyungsoo and Baekhyun's supposed relationship to other matters: Seungsoo's recent promotion at work, the book his mother's been reading in her club, the unfortunate affairs of the country's politics. Fortunately, they don't stay on that topic long, Baekhyun smoothly twisting the topic around to tell a story about one of the undergrad kids who came to his office hours with some of the most ridiculous excuses for why he'd missed half of the classes this semester.

He entertains everyone with exaggerated hand motions and the perfect storytelling delivery of a stand-up comedian, making the whole table laugh over and over again. Kyungsoo, too, finds himself near tears at the way Baekhyun speaks and not even the smug look on Baekhyun's face when Baekhyun turns to him takes away from the bubbling happiness in his chest.

For a brief moment, Kyungsoo almost wants to kiss him. Kiss that smirk off his face, kiss him for making him laugh, kiss him for entertaining his whole family and making himself at home here, for being here at all.

And that shocking revelation is too much to handle or even think about right now, so he quickly looks away and latches onto the first thing he can—his dad asking for a beer from the kitchen.

"I'll get it," he says almost too loudly, standing up briskly and leaving the table.

He takes longer than is probably necessary to retrieve the beer but when he finally returns, his heart is no longer pounding in his ears and he doesn't feel quite as mortified. It's nothing, he tells himself. It's just a weak moment of attractions, it's nothing serious. It's just a result of all the weird moments of this crazy day piling up on top of each other. That's it.

Except Baekhyun reaches out a hand to pat his knee when Kyungsoo sits back down and leans in close to say, "Thank you for asking me to come with you," smiling so beautifully at Kyungsoo that the thought of kissing him returns just once again, just as easily as the first time.

He doesn't know what to say. Baekhyun's hand on his thigh is warm and distracting. So he simply nods and says nothing at all.

•

There's traditional pumpkin pie for dessert as well as cheesecake that Seungsoo brought along. They spread out to eat, Kyungsoo's dad and Baekhyun returning to the living room so they can find another record to play, and Minhee going up to check on Hana who has been sleeping in the second guest room. Kyungsoo and Seungsoo help their mom clean up, packing away leftovers as instructed and wiping down the dining room table. Kyungsoo forgoes dessert, feeling too full from dinner to eat anymore, and retreats to the living room as well, fishing his phone from his pocket to check his messages.

There's a few from his roommate Chanyeol that he responds to simply, but it's the one from Jongdae that gives him pause.

_how’s it going?_

Kyungsoo looks up at Baekhyun who is laughing with his dad and then back at the phone. How's it going. What a question.

 _fine_ , he types back. _i haven't killed him yet so_

He doesn't expect Jongdae to respond, but a few moments later his phone vibrates in his hand. _i never expected u would,_ is all it says and honestly leaves Kyungsoo even more confused than anything else that's happened all day.

He startles when Baekhyun flops down to the couch next to him and says, “Who're you texting?"

Kyungsoo quickly locks his phone before Baekhyun can see too much of his conversation. "Jongdae," he says and Baekhyun makes a soft noise of understanding.

"I sent him that pic of us from earlier after you texted it to me," Baekhyun says. "He said we look like a real couple."

Kyungsoo coughs. "He's an idiot," he says and is confused when Baekhyun laughs.

"He also said that's exactly what you'd say if I told you," Baekhyun says with a cheeky grin and Kyungsoo can't help himself from moaning slightly.

"Am I that predictable?" he asks, mostly rhetorically, but Baekhyun shakes his head.

"Not really," he says. "I think you're really interesting, Kyungsoo."

Once again, Kyungsoo finds himself at a loss for words. He scratches the side of his face and says, "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

Baekhyun's grin widens. "Oh, it's good," he says. "Trust me."

For some reason, Kyungsoo does.

Later that night, when everyone's had their fill of dessert as well as a nightcap, Kyungsoo leads the way back up to the spare bedroom, Baekhyun following behind him. It isn't until this very moment that he realizes they'll be sharing this room and this bed. At least when his parents moved and bought this house, they'd gotten rid of Kyungsoo and Seungsoo's old single beds and replaced them with doubles, so there's enough space for the both of them, but still.

Sharing a bed? With Baekhyun? Kyungsoo almost wants to suggest he'll sleep on the couch.

But Baekhyun doesn't seem to have any problem with it, or with being in the same room alone with Kyungsoo at all. He’s already stripping out of his shirt and jeans and rifling through his backpack in just his small black boxer briefs.

Kyungsoo definitely shouldn't be looking but he can't help it, taking in Baekhyun's wide shoulders but slim waist, his nicely shaped thighs. His legs are longer than they appear, considering Baekhyun's not much taller than Kyungsoo. He's...fuck. He's actually kind of hot.

Before Kyungsoo can look away, Baekhyun catches him staring. Thankfully, instead of teasing like Kyungsoo expects, Baekhyun laughs and says, "Don't worry. I did bring pajamas. I won't walk around in my underwear."

Kyungsoo clears his throat and finally looks away, roughly grabbing his own bag and digging around for his sleep clothes. "I wasn't worried," he says gruffly. He takes his pajamas and toothbrush and says, "I'll be right back."

He changes in the peace of the bathroom and brushes his teeth all while doing his best to dispel the image of a mostly naked Baekhyun out of his mind. Of all the things he didn't need today, this might be at the top of the list. He doesn't even know how to consolidate the messy, haven't-washed-my-hair-in-two-weeks Baekhyun to the handsome, funny Baekhyun who he's spent all day with.

He heads back to the room without having figured anything out and Baekhyun has thankfully found his clothes, one of those oversized shirts he likes and a pair of sweatpants that surprisingly don't look like Baekhyun's had them since he was thirteen. "My turn!" he exclaims as he leaves and Kyungsoo chuckles softly under his breath, shaking his head as he puts his things away.

He plugs his phone into an outlet to charge and then climbs into the bed. Baekhyun returns a few minutes later and Kyungsoo feels the need to say, "If you dont wanna share a bed we can probably make one up for you elsewhere, or I can go take the couch—"

"Don't bother," Baekhyun says, waving his hands. "It's not a problem and it's only for one night."

"Alright," Kyungsoo mutters, and that's that.

Baekhyun joins him in bed after turning out the light in the room. For a few moments there's nothing but the rustling of covers and gentle squeak of the mattress as they both get comfortable.

Then, "As a warning though, I do tend to cuddle in my sleep," Baekhyun says.

Somehow Kyungsoo is not surprised. He laughs and says, "Don't worry, I'll just kick you off the bed."

"Perfect," Baekhyun says, and Kyungsoo finds himself grinning into the darkness as this whole, bizarre day finally comes to an end.

•

In the morning, Kyungsoo wakes to an empty bed. He can hear distant voices from downstairs and groans as he rolls around in the sheets for a few long minutes. He eventually does drag himself out of bed to take a shower, and by the time he’s sufficiently clean and dressed and makes it downstairs, his mom and Baekhyun have apparently just finished making breakfast.

"I thought you said you couldn't cook," Kyungsoo says, shocked by the pile of French toast and scrambled eggs laid out on the table.

"I'm not very good at it," Baekhyun says. "I follow directions really well though, and besides, scrambled eggs is like the easiest thing to make, there's no way to screw that up."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Kyungsoo's mother laughs. "When I was teaching Kyungsoo how to cook years ago, he'd mess up even the simplest things."

"It was hard with you watching my every move," Kyungsoo retorts but without any real heat. His mother only laughs and pats his cheek.

"Well, you've turned out just fine, haven't you?" she says. "The galbi jjim you make is definitely better than mine these days."

"Definitely not," Kyungsoo protests, but she waves him off and gestures him to sit down instead.

"Eat, eat," she says. "I'll finish up the bacon. Do you want any juice, Baekhyunnie?"

 _Baekhyunnie_. Kyungsoo wonders how long they've been down here cooking and chatting to get to that level of friendliness.

"I got it," Baekhyun says with a smile, heading for the fridge. "Kyungsoo?"

"Yeah," Kyungsoo says as he sits down, feeling strangely defeated. "Juice is fine."

It’s just Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and his mother for breakfast. His dad and Seungsoo went out Black Friday shopping for a new television and Minhee is still resting with Hana. Kyungsoo doesn't mind it though, kind of prefers the quiet and laid-back start to the day.

Baekhyun's clearly already got his mom charmed, too. It's kind of entertaining seeing how easily they bounce off each other, Baekhyun telling her more about his family, how he thinks she'd get along well with his own mom. They talk about Kyungsoo too, like he's not right there, Kyungsoo's mom bringing up stories that range from when Kyungsoo cried at the end of Prince of Tennis to when he had a crush on their neighbor at age five.

Baekhyun seems delighted by everything new he learns, and doesn't seem to have any shame whatsoever when recounting his own embarrassing moments. It's nice though, because Kyungsoo's glad to hear more about Baekhyun even if it comes at his own expense.

"Are you sure you boys can't stay the rest of the weekend?" Kyungsoo's mother asks as breakfast starts to wind down, all of them having their fill of food. She holds onto her mug of coffee and looks at them hopefully and Kyungsoo is surprised to realize he wouldn't have minded to stay a little longer.

But as it is, he'd already told her they'll be leaving before lunch and honestly, he thinks it's probably best that he gets home so he can get some space to himself and away from Baekhyun and everything that's changed.

"Sorry mom," he says, patting her arm. "I have a lot of work to do this weekend and I didn't bring any of it with me."

"It's the same for me," Baekhyun says, and he actually looks somewhat disappointed too. "I have papers to grade and I told my roommate I'd clean the apartment before he comes home on Sunday so I'll actually have to do that or else he might kill me."

Kyungsoo's mother laughs softly. "Well, we certainly can't have that," she says, and reaches out to pinch Baekhyun's cheek. "I would miss you too much." she laughs more brightly as she pulls back and grins at Kyungsoo. "Though I daresay not as much as Kyungsoo would."

They look at him bemusedly, his mother somewhat smug, while Baekhyun rests his chin in his hand atop the table and blinks innocently at him. "Would you miss me, Kyungsoo?" he says teasingly.

Kyungsoo murmurs, "You'll never know," as he lifts his glass of orange juice to his lips and takes a drink.

They spend awhile simply talking together there, even after they've finished eating, the dogs wandering around at their feet and whining for any bits of leftovers. Minhee comes out sometime later with Hana in her arms and Baekhyun lights up the second he sees her, asking once again if he can hold her.

"She's been a little fussy this morning," Minhee warns, even as she carefully lets Baekhyun take her. "If you don't mind watching her while I get something to eat—"

"Not at all," Baekhyun says, beaming. Minhee lets out a sigh of relief and leaves for the kitchen with Kyungsoo's mom to get an additional plate and something to drink. Kyungsoo watches as Baekhyun walks around the dining room with Hana in his arms, gently swaying her side to side.

"Do you have any nieces or nephews?" Kyungsoo asks, wondering why he didn't think of it before. Baekhyun's clearly comfortable with Hana and it would make sense if he's had practice with babies before.

"Yeah, my older brother has two kids," Baekhyun says, grinning over at Kyungsoo before looking right back down to Hana. "They're adorable but mischievous now that they're old enough to, you know, actually talk and demand things. I haven't held an actual baby in a long time though."

"Babies make me nervous," Kyungsoo admits, rubbing his ear. "I'm always afraid they're gonna start wailing in my arms."

Baekhyun laughs softly. "It's because they can sense fear," he says and Kyungsoo snorts.

"I don't think that's how it works," he says.

"Sure it is," Baekhyun says seriously and Kyungsoo just shakes his head, laughing.

He gets up from the table, taking his and Baekhyun's empty plates back to the kitchen. He glances at the time on the microwave and finds that's already nearly eleven and they should probably head out soon before they get wrangled into having lunch with everyone too.

His dad and brother return as Kyungsoo is heading up the stairs and he comes back down to help them drag the television they'd successfully purchased into the living room, along with two extra bags full of additional items. Minhee stops by with a half-eaten French toast in her hand hand and looks at Seungsoo and says, "One of those bags better not be full of baby clothes."

Seungsoo looks down at the bag, then back up at his wife, and weakly says, "Well, it's not _full_ of baby clothes."

Minhee looks torn between wanting to rifle through the bag to see and yelling at Seungsoo but eventually settles for giving him a steely look and taking a bite out of her toast. She turns on her heel and heads back toward the kitchen and Seungsoo heaves a sigh of relief.

"She said not to buy too much for Hana because babies grow so fast and she already has plenty of clothes," Seungsoo tells Kyungsoo. "But the sales were good and they're so cute."

Kyungsoo laughs and pats his brother's shoulder. "You can tell her they're from me if that helps," he says and Seungsoo looks much less defeated at that.

"Thanks bro," he says and then suddenly pauses and blinks a few times, like he's only just realizing who exactly is standing in front of him. "I thought you and your boyfriend would be gone before we got back."

"We woke up a little later than expected," Kyungsoo says with a shrug. "But I think we'll probably head out soon. I was gonna go grab my things."

"Well, don't let me stop you then," Seungsoo says, waving Kyungsoo toward the stairs so Kyungsoo leaves him to it and returns to the bedroom.

He's just about packed everything back into his bag and remade the bed when Baekhyun walks in.

"Heard from Seungsoo you were packing," Baekhyun says. "Eager to get home? Or just eager for this whole charade to end?"

Kyungsoo huffs out a laugh. "A little of both?" he says. "If we stay any longer, my mom will definitely somehow weasel us into staying another night and I mean, I did only ask you to do this for a day, so it wouldn't be fair to expect you to keep up the act any longer."

Baekhyun shrugs at that and says, "I wouldn’t mind, really. It's actually been kind of fun."

That makes Kyungsoo pause and consider. Baekhyun's not wrong exactly. it hasn't been a bad Thanksgiving. He's definitely had worse. In fact, considering how much Kyungsoo had originally been dreading coming home, this trip has gone much better than expected.

"Huh," he says, zipping up his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. "You might be right about that."

Baekhyun grins at him. "It's all because of me, I know," he says grandly and Kyungsoo shoves him lightly as he heads for the door, biting his lower lip to keep from grinning to wildly or blurt out that Baekhyun's actually right.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," he says instead and leaves the room, smiling all the way to the front door, Baekhyun's laughter trailing after him.

Saying goodbye to everyone takes longer than should be necessary, mostly because Kyungsoo’s mom is still trying to get him to stick around for lunch at least. It’s only when his dad cuts in to pull her back, an arm around her shoulders that she finally gives in, watching as they pull on their coats. Kyungsoo’s already called for an Uber to make things easier, and also to avoid an awkward conversation with his dad in the ride to the station, and when he gets the notification that the driver’s arrived, he gives his mom a big hug.

“I had a good time, mom,” he says. “Thanks for everything.”

“Thank you for coming,” she says. “I know you were probably trying to find a way out of it.”

He was, but not for the reasons she probably thinks. “I’m glad I didn’t,” he says honestly and she smiles brightly at him before turning her attention to Baekhyun.

They hug too and she pinches his cheek again as she lets go, says, “You’re a good boy, Baekhyunnie. I think you’re the perfect kind of boy for Kyungsoo.”

“Mom,” Kyungsoo complains, but she shushes him, patting Baekhyun’s cheek lightly before releasing him entirely.

“You’re good together,” she says. “A mother knows these things.”

“Yes, Mrs. Do,” Baekhyun agrees complacently, even though Kyungsoo can tell he’s struggling to hide a laugh. “I trust you.”

“See?” she says, looking at Kyungsoo. “You should listen to him.”

“Okay, we’re going now,” Kyungsoo says, finally reaching for the door and pulling it open.

“I hope to see you here again soon, Baekhyunnie,” she says as Baekhyun exchanges goodbyes with Kyungsoo’s dad, even shaking his hand.

“I’ll do my best,” Baekhyun says and Kyungsoo feels a little of that guilt return at the obvious lie, that Baekhyun won’t be back. “Thank you for everything. I had a wonderful time.”

“Get back safely!” she calls out after them as they head down the driveway to the car waiting for them at the street.

In the silence of the Uber, Kyungsoo lets out the deepest breath that has Baekhyun laughing and smacking his back roughly.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he says, grinning.

Kyungsoo finds he can’t help but grin back. “No,” he answers, surprisingly truthful, “it wasn’t.”

•

The ride back to the city feels like it takes twice as long as it did yesterday. They have to stand on the train for a couple of stops and when they finally manage to snag seats, Baekhyun falls asleep with his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. It’s kind of cute and Kyungsoo does his best not to move too much and accidentally wake him. He’s glad, too, that he doesn’t have to really talk right now, glad to simply listen to his music and not have to think about anything else. It’s been a long two days of being around family and he’s definitely ready to get home.

Kyungsoo gently wakes Baekhyun up when they’re a station away from their destination and Baekhyun yawns and stretches like he’s a cat, rubbing at his face and running his hands through his hair. He hasn’t bothered to style it up today, leaving it soft and messy over his face, but unlike how Kyungsoo would normally find it ridiculous, today he thinks it’s cute, makes Baekhyun look young and boyish.

“I’m starving,” is the first thing Baekhyun says, still a little puffy-eyed from his nap but so serious that it makes Kyungsoo laugh.

“Let’s get something to eat then,” Kyungsoo offers as the train slows down. “It’ll count toward one of the many meals I’ll owe you for this.”

Baekhyun loudly proclaims that he wants a burger so they end up getting food from the Shake Shack at the station. Kyungsoo hadn’t realized he was hungry until now, and drinks his chocolate shake happily as Baekhyun immediately tears into his cheeseburger. For awhile, they eat in silence, the loud, bustling station offering up plenty of noise between them.

Kyungsoo thinks if he’d had lunch like this with Baekhyun, even just a couple of days ago, it would’ve been awkward, even uncomfortable. They’ve never really spent any time alone together until this short trip, and even when Kyungsoo visits Jongdae, Baekhyun usually sticks to his room or conveniently heads out of the apartment to meet other friends. He frowns slightly as he thinks about it, wonders if maybe Baekhyun doesn’t like him, or, worse, that Baekhyun knew Kyungsoo didn’t particularly like him, and so avoided him whenever he was around.

He takes a bite of his burger and runs through the last 24 hours in his head, thinking about how kind Baekhyun had been to his family, how genuinely charming and friendly he was, how easily he was able to tease Kyungsoo just enough without ever really crossing any lines. He apologized immediately for that kiss. He brought his mom flowers. He played with the dogs like they were his own, and watched after Hana whenever Minhee needed a break.

For all intents and purposes, Baekhyun acted like the perfect kind of boyfriend. The kind of boyfriend Kyungsoo would even want. And the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes Baekhyun probably wasn’t acting at all. This is who he is. Yes, maybe a little messy at times—if the way he’s eating his burger now is any indication--but ultimately he’s a nice guy who would go out of his way to pretend to date someone for a day.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo says, setting his burger down and wiping his hands on a napkin. “Thanks for doing this.”

“What? Getting lunch with you?” Baekhyun blinks at him, confused, and Kyungsoo laughs.

“No, dummy. The fake dating thing,” he says. “Honestly, if you hadn’t come, I think that dinner would’ve been so much worse.”

Baekhyun licks his lips and laughs too. “I don’t know,” he says. “Your family is great and they love you a lot. It probably wouldn’t have been as bad as you think, even if they had tried to sneak in a blind date on you.”

Kyungsoo rubs his ear, considering. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he says after a moment, because despite everything, he knows his family means well. He picks up a few fries and pops them into his mouth, considering for a moment as he chews. Then, he asks, “Why did you agree to do this anyway? I mean, I know I offered to treat you to food for the week, but—didn’t you have Thanksgiving plans of your own?”

“Nope,” Baekhyun says rather cheerfully. “My parents are in Seattle so I can’t just pop over for the night like you can, but I also took quite a few days off earlier in the semester to visit my brother in Chicago so I wanted to save up for Christmas instead. My family doesn’t really do much for Thanksgiving anyway, honestly. The dinner we had last night was the first time I’ve had that kind of Thanksgiving celebration in years.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo says, nodding. “I guess that makes sense.” He chuckles and picks up his burger again. “I guess I’m still kind of surprised you said yes.”

“Well,” Baekhyun says slowly, meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes, “I’ve always had a bit of a crush on you so I figured maybe this would be a good way to try and…I don’t know. Spend more time together.”

Kyungsoo almost drops his burger at Baekhyun’s sudden confession. He’s pretty sure he’s gaping at him like he’s lost his mind. Baekhyun merely stares back but the earnest resolution in his eyes is enough to convince Kyungsoo that this isn’t a ridiculous joke.

“You...what?” he exclaims, barely aware of setting his burger back down through the sudden rapid beating of his heart in his ears.

“Uh, yeah,” Baekhyun laughs shortly. “I’m surprised you didn’t know. I mean, I guess I was never obvious about it, but I kinda thought you hated me so I didn’t ever say anything.”

“You thought I hated you but you still had a crush on me.”

Baekhyun’s lips curl into a wry smile. “I didn’t say it was a _smart_ crush.”

“Hey,” Kyungsoo protests.

Baekhyun laughs, takes a bite out of his burger and Kyungsoo can’t believe he can even _eat_ right now, after admitting something so big, but maybe he’s trying to distract himself. Kyungsoo doesn’t think anything could distract him from this, from the realization that all this time Baekhyun has been interested in him and Kyungsoo has been...well, less than welcoming.

“I’m kidding,” Baekhyun says after he’s swallowed. “Or, well, I mean I’m serious about liking you. You’re smart and passionate and you make really good oatmeal cookies. But, uh, don’t tell Jongdae that I steal like half of them from him whenever you bring some over.”

“I’m pretty sure he knows,” Kyungsoo answers easily but then shakes his head and returns to the more pressing topic. “I...I don’t hate you, Baekhyun,” he says, and despite everything he might have believed up until a few days ago, it’s the complete and utmost truth right now.

“Really?” Baekhyun asks and Kyungsoo kind of hates that he doesn’t believe him, but he has no one to blame for that but himself.

“Yes, really,” Kyungsoo insists and knows he needs to explain, tries to string the right words together. “I think...maybe I disliked the idea of you—the one that I had built up in my head from just the few times we’ve met. And that’s not fair to you, that I didn’t try to get to know you. I should’ve known you’re better than that, I mean, you’re friends with Jongdae and he’s practically the closest thing to a living angel.”

He’s glad that this makes Baekhyun smile. “You only think that because you don’t live with him,” he says teasingly. “He’s really the devil.”

“Funny, because he says that about you,” Kyungsoo returns and they both grin at each other for a moment before laughing, the tension around them slowly easing away.

For a few moments of comfortable silence, they focus on finishing their food. Kyungsoo’s still reeling from what Baekhyun’s admitted and from everything he’s thought about over the past day. Everything he’s learned about Baekhyun and everything he’s seen of Baekhyun, how he actually _liked_ spending time with Baekhyun, how he thinks he wouldn’t mind doing it again.

“I am sorry that I misjudged you,” Kyungsoo says eventually once he’s eaten all his food. Baekhyun still has some of his burger left and he hopes he finishes it slowly because otherwise there might not be an excuse for him to stay.

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun says with a smile. “That sort of thing happens, you know. We’re only human. And I think I misjudged you, too.”

Kyungsoo isn’t expecting that. “Really?” he asks. “How?”

Baekhyun shrugs. “I’ve always thought you were really attractive and really smart, but you also come across as kind of like a stick in the mud.”

Kyungsoo’s not sure what his face his doing but it makes Baekhyun laugh and wave his hands placatingly.

“Last night showed me that you’re not really like that,” Baekhyun says. “You’re cute and funny when you want to be and I had a really good time with you.”

The earnesty of his words has warmth spreading through Kyungsoo’s chest. He swallows thickly and says, “It’s the same for me, you know. I didn’t—My impression of you was only from what I’d seen or the times Jongdae mentioned something in passing, like complaining about how you never do the laundry correctly.”

“He just has too many weird rules,” Baekhyun exclaims.

Kyungsoo laughs. “Spending all this time with you, I guess I’ve realized you’re more than just Jongdae’s loud gamer roommate. You went all the way to Poughkeepsie just because I asked. You were really kind to everyone in my family. You like dogs and you _do_ know how to dress yourself.”

“Hey,” Baekhyun protests, but he’s laughing.

“The thing is,” Kyungsoo says. “I realized we have more in common than I thought, and well, I really liked spending time with you, too, Baekhyun. I liked getting to know you more. I’m sorry we didn’t do this earlier.”

“I’m sorry too,” Baekhyun says with a small smile. “But I hope now we can stay friends? Or well, become even better friends, I guess.”

Kyungsoo licks his lips and looks at him, at the way his hair is still floofy in places from his earlier nap, at the warm brown of his eyes, at the obscene way he opens his mouth to pop in the last piece of his burger. Even as he chews, his lips are so pink. Kyungsoo remembers suddenly how he’d thought about kissing him last night and blurts out, “Is friendship all that you want?”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen and he coughs slightly on his mouthful, quickly swallowing and reaching for his shake to wash everything down. “I—Well—No,” he says finally, looking a little like a lost puppy, unsure of how to explain his feelings and it’s almost refreshing to see him so thrown off guard considering how easily he had brought up his crush in the first place. “I do like you, Kyungsoo, and spending all this time with you has only made me like you more, but I’m not pressuring you into anything so like—”

“Let’s go on a date,” Kyungsoo says quickly, cutting Baekhyun off before he can let himself overthink this.

“ _What_?” Baekhyun almost yells.

“A date,” Kyungsoo repeats, smiling now at Baekhyun’s stunned expression. “I mean, I do still owe you a couple of meals to pay you back, so. Let’s make them dates, instead. And we can get to know each other even better.”

Baekhyun is still gaping at him. His eyes dart around for a moment like he’s afraid he’s being punked. Eventually he looks back at Kyungsoo carefully and says, “I—Are you serious?”

“If you’re game, then I am,” Kyungsoo says simply and maybe he’s rushing into this but he thinks they’ve wasted years avoiding each other and he doesn’t want to take this slowly anymore. He wants to spend more time with Baekhyun and he wants to see where this can go. He thinks he could come to like Baekhyun the way Baekhyun likes him.

“I’m game,” Baekhyun blurts out. “Boy, am I _game_. I am the gamest of games—”

“Shut up, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo laughs, picking up his tray of trash and heading for one of the bins.

Baekhyun hastily follows after him to do the same. He sticks out his tongue childishly and says, “Make me.”

Once, Kyungsoo might have found that annoying. Right now, he finds it stupidly adorable. “I would,” he says slowly, teasingly, “but I think it might be too soon for us to kiss.”

It shuts Baekhyun up anyway.

Kyungsoo laughs and heads toward the exit and when Baekhyun runs after him and smoothly takes Kyungsoo’s hand in his, he doesn’t flinch and he doesn’t pull away.

Pretending to date Baekhyun for a day turned out to be pretty fun, but Kyungsoo thinks he’s already looking forward to see how everything will work out between them for real.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. ahHHhh it feels weird posting when i haven't posted an actual fic in like 6 months hdfsjdsd
> 
> 2\. but i have been struggling to finish a longer ~40k baeksoo which will hopefully also be posted soon (or at the very least before the year is over! that's the goal!)
> 
> 3\. i definitely needed this little break from that fic though and i'm glad i was able to write something to finally post and share with everyone t__t
> 
> 4\. i really hope u enjoy this!! thank u so much for reading yall are the best! ❤️
> 
> come cry with me about baeksoo on [twitter](http://twitter.com/xingkais) | [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/xingkais)


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